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ICONS Extraordinary Artworks from the National Gallery and Sotheby’s

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Disappointing discussion at the National Gallery examining what makes a painting iconic. The event marked the publication of "Icons: 100 Extraordinary Objects from Sotheby's History" and brought together Patrick Elliott, curator of modern paintings at the gallery, a recently created role; Will Gompertz, director of the Sir John Soane Museum and Chloe Stead, Global Head of Private Sales in the Old Master's department at Sotheby's. Sadly the author, Elif Shafak, was billed to attend but had a family emergency and had to pull out. She might have brought a non-art world voice to the platform. They discussed what makes a painting an icon then each nominated contenders for the title from the galleries collection or from works which had passed though Sotheby's auction house. I would have liked them to pick more from the Sotheby's category as the galleries own works were well known and their stories very familiar to the audience. It was fun however to have ...
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Waldmüller: Landscapes

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Charming exhibition at the National Gallery of landscapes by 19th century Viennese artist, Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller. I had done an online curator's introduction to this show, but you didn't really need to know a lot to appreciate these exquisite, jewel like paintings. The finish on them was beautiful and they had a shiny quality. They were small and drew you into the detail. I think the pictures of trees were my favourite and reminded me of Constables studies of trees. Closes 20 September 2026 Review Guardian
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Take One Picture 2026

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Fun exhibition at the National Gallery of children's work reacting to a painting in the galleries collection. This is an annual exercise which I always enjoy and this year the work chosen was Canaletto’s painting of the Venice regatta. Each school's children pick an aspect of the picture to explore so this year they looked at boats, the idea of a vista, masques and much more. I loved St Michael's C & E Primary Academy's take on the vista relating Venice to their home city of Birmingham. I also liked King's Meadow Primary School who spotted gold spikes on an emblem on a building which they echoed as wands. The objects they were made were beautiful and I've just realised from looking at my photos that there are just 3-4.   Closed 31 August 2026
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Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now

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Stolid exhibition at the Photographers' Gallery looking at Japanese women photographers since the 1950s. The show was well presented under the themes of pioneers, elevating the day, self, gender and society and experiments but it was large, taking over all three floors of their galleries. I liked that it was shown in groups by individual photographers with good information boards including quotes by the artists. However the work lacked a sense of lightness and it all felt quite serious and worthy. I met a friend after and told her where I'd been and as she said "That's a bit niche". I think the “Elevating the Everyday” section was my favourite with street and diary photography. I loved Ushioda Tokuko's pictures of the inside and outside of her fridge as a commentary on her life. I was intrigued by Yanagi Miwa's staged pictures commenting on Japanese elevator girls (although I thought they were air hostesses from the image). The one shown here was us...
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Windrush Food Culture

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Poor exhibition at the National Maritime Museum looking at the food culture brought to the UK by the Windrush generation and its legacy. The show had good commentary boards but not many objects and some that were billed seemed to have disappeared as there was an empty case. They pointed out how people set up markets to provide the ingredients people wanted and how the food has moved from the margins to the mainstream with a good info board on taste makers from Rusty Lee to Andi Oliver. There were a couple of videos alongside the info boards but that was it. It felt like a big story to tell and it deserved more depth. It was presented by the National Windrush Museum in residence at the National Maritime Museum. I felt they needed a bit more mentoring about how to curate an exhibition. Closed 30 July 2026
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ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025

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Interesting exhibition at the National Maritime Museum of the winners of the Astronomy Photography of the Year awards. As ever in this annual show the works were shown on light boxes with details of where, when and how the image was taken or constructed. I preferred the works which showed some aspect of the earth in the picture to give a sense of the known. There were some beautiful images but as I go to this show every year, it is getting quite samey. I like the display but it is getting repetitive.   I also think it is quote expensive for what it is at £12. Closed 3 August 2026
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Kõmij Mour Ijin/Our Life is Here

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Intriguing exhibition at the National Maritime Museum showing the work of ten artists who took part in an expedition to the Marshall Islands in 2023 which were affected by the testing of nuclear weapons in the 50s and 60s. The show included some interesting work but more importantly highlighted the story of the islands and the issues they face from the testing and climate change. I was amazed to learn in one explosion in 1954 three islands were obliterated. I liked these imagined machines by Solomon Ends which were painted on the beaches on the island. They are imagined devices which would draw radiation and poison out of the sand and transform it into clean air. Closes 4 October 2026
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